Battle Royale
by redstars-x
Summary: 71 regulars are sent to what they're told is a tennis camp... only to find out that's not quite what they're in for. It's more of a kill-to-survive kind of thing. Character death, violence, blood, gore and all that fun stuff.
1. 01

**Okay, so PoT has been my favourite series for years, but this is my first attempt at actually writing anything for it. This is obviously inspired by the novel "Battle Royale" by Koushun Takami, but it was my sister **tenshi-kinryoku'**s South Park version that actually gave me the motivation to write this! If you aren't aware of what this will lead to, this chapter will explain most of it. Also, you can always look up a summary on Wikipedia or wherever. Any crit is very much appreciated and welcomed - I want to make sure I write this to the best of my ability, and if it can be improved that's never a bad thing! Please excuse my lack of a decent title, I'll try to think of something better as I go along~**

**Warnings: character death, swearing, blood/gore/violence later on. Others will be added as needed.****  
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><p>The bus ride had been long, about three hours (and longer for those who had come from different areas) but eventually the three buses had come to a stop a short distance away from an old-looking building. Pouring out of said buses were the regulars of various middle school tennis teams, most of them talking about how they'd learned new things that would completely crush whoever they happened to play against. Luggage was hauled off the bus and thrown into a pile, people gathered their things and then stood around in small groups while waiting for further direction.<p>

Sakaki Tarou, who had been put in charge of the trip, headed over to the group, and after a minute or so the regulars were led towards the building. Once they were close enough, and could get a clearer view of the building, it turned out to be an old abandoned-looking school. Sakaki led the teams in, and down the hall to an empty classroom.

"What the hell is this place?" asked Shishido, clearly used to much better than his current surroundings.

"Are we staying in _here_? What about a dorm? What about a _cabin?_" asked Mizuki, looking around slightly horrified at the cobweb covered walls and desks coated in dust. "Can't we just stay on the bus?"

"Yuuta, it looks like your princess is having a rough time. Can you shut him up, please?" Fuji sounded slightly irritated.

"Mizuki-san, I'm sure we're not staying in here. It'll be fine," said Yuuta, trying to be reassuring, but Mizuki's unimpressed look didn't change.

"If everyone could take a seat, I can explain things and we can get started," said Sakaki, somewhat impatiently.

"You want me to sit in this? It's covered in dust!" It was Mizuki again.

"Mizuki-san," Yuuta was already starting to look tired, "just clean it off and-"

"Ore-sama will not sit in this. Kabaji! Wipe off ore-sama's desk."

"Usu," said Kabaji, as he took off his jacket to wipe down Atobe's desk and chair.

"Mizuki-san, here, just sit on my jacket, it's fine," said Yuuta, draping his jersey over Mizuki's chair. Mizuki gave a sniff, but sat down.

Everyone managed to take a seat, but the conversations had now shifted from tennis to "What the hell is this place and why are we in it?" Sakaki waited for the near impossible. While 70 tennis regulars questioned each other on the situation, he stood waiting for silence. This went on for some time before he cleared his throat, earning only a glance or two from some of the players before they went back to their conversations. Just as he was about to make another request for silence five men, armed and in black uniforms, burst into the room.

"What the fuck?" was Shishido's surprised reaction, while the sudden entrance earned a small scream from Eiji.

"Oh, this should be fun," said Niou, almost sarcastically.

A shot was fired and the room fell silent.

"Oi, kantoku-" started Atobe, before he was cut off.

"Be quiet," Sakaki barely even glanced at Atobe before continuing, "You, the regulars of various tennis teams, have been brought here to participate in Battle Royale," he stated.

"Battle what?" asked someone from the back.

"B-Battle Royale?" Inui sounded shocked, and when he sent a sideways glance to Yanagi, saw that his expression showed the same surprise. Both were aware of what was coming.

"What's that? Is it some kind of tournament?" asked Mori.

"To put it simply, we have brought you here so you are able to fight each other," said Sakaki calmy, as if it would answer all the questions that had just come to the players.

"Fight? We shouldn't fight!" came the alarmed response from Oishi.

"This isn't just-" started Inui, before he was cut off by Sakaki.

"You will be fighting each other - until only one of you is left."

"Until one of us... do you mean kill each other!" it was Kenya's turn to sound shocked.

"That is exactly what it means."

"Ehhh kantoku, you're joking, right?" exclaimed Gakuto, nearly knocking his chair over as he jumped up.

"Sit down, Mukahi."

Gakuto dropped back into his seat, looking over at Yuushi with a "what in the fuck?" look on his face. The tensai simply stared back and shrugged, not knowing what else to do.

Very quickly, conversations broke out all over the room. Kill each other? They had to be joking, right? They were just here to play some tennis before school started up again. That was it. This was... insane. Another shot, and crying started in the back of the room. If anyone had dared to turn around, they'd have seen it was coming from Dan Taichi.

Yamabuki had gathered at the back, and Taichi was now crying into Akutsu's shoulder. The team's doubles pairs sat there completely shocked, while Tohji stared off into nothing. Sengoku sat off to the side and surveyed the room, only to see that Hyotei's Ohtori may have also been crying, but if so, it was far better contained than Dan-kun's sobs.

Sakaki continued. "Now, the rules."

"There are rules da ne?"

"Yes, and if you decide not to follow them, you die."

"Aren't we all going to die anyways?"

One more shot rang out, and Uchimura was dead. There was a scream from the back of the room, followed by more crying, a "holy fuck" that came from somewhere around where the Rikkai regulars had gathered, and horrified looks on every face in the room.

"As I was saying," continued Sakaki, "if you fail to follow the rules, you will end up much like that. On your way out from here, you will all be given two things. The first is a collar, which you are required to wear for the duration of the game."

"Game? You're calling this a game?" it was Kirihara.

"Saa, this could be fun."

"Fuji!"

"Enough. The second thing is a backpack. In it you'll have a day's supply of food, a water bottle, a map and a weapon. Each of you will have a different weapon, all of which have varying degress of usefulness."

"So you're saying someone could get a gun, and someone else could have like... a pencil sharpener?" asked Saeki.

"Yes."

"You will be called alphabetically, one minute apart. Once called, you will be handed your items and then required to put on the collar. Refusal to do so, as mentioned, will result in death. Inside the collar is a tracking device - it will show us where you are at all times. You must stay within the boundaries on the map. Anyone caught trying to escape will have their collar immediately deactivated, resulting, again, in their death," Sakaki paused, surveying the room to make sure they had all understood.

"We're going to have a _kill_er time," cracked off Davide, which earned him looks from nearly everyone in the room.

"Not the time, Davide. Definitely not the time," said Bane, glaring at him.

"The rest of the "rules" are not so much rules as information you may find useful. This is being broadcast on television - anyone who decides to tune in can and will see what all of you are up to. Parents, relatives - everyone. Finally, if no one dies in any 24-hour period, the game will end and you will all die. This is to keep the game interesting and ensure it continues. Now, are there any questions?"

"This is all a joke, right?" this time, it was Sanada who spoke up.

"I assure you this is not a joke. Is that all? Yes? Then we will proceed with calling names. First, Akazawa Yoshiro."

Akazawa stood up, entirely unsure if he should actually go up to the front, or if he should just stand there and wait to be shot. Fear put movement into his legs, and before he knew it the collar was around his neck and he was out the door.

"Akutagawa Jiroh."

Jiroh was already half out of his seat, which was surprising for the normally-sleeping blonde. He walked up to the front, gathered his things and almost, almost asked Sakaki if this was all real before deciding that no, he didn't want to die just there. After putting on the collar, he took the backpack and headed out after Akazawa.

More names were called until Sakaki had finally reached the end of the list.

"Zaizen Hikaru."

Zaizen had already been halfway up to the front when his name was called. He took his things, put on the collar, and set off like the others.

**~70 remain~**


	2. 02

**Originally I planned for this chapter to be a bit longer, but... I suppose things happen, haha.**

**Also, thanks to **tenshi-kinryoku** for pointing out to me that crossbows actually have bolts, not arrows. Apparently I just don't play as many video games as she does. It's been corrected!**

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><p>Hiyoshi Wakashi had left the school fairly early on, so he was able to find a decent spot to hide while he thought of a plan without too much worry of running into others. There was a small group of trees just behind the school, and while Hiyoshi had figured most people would have set off away from the building, he quickly went around it to find shelter in the trees.<p>

Walking around the old building, Hiyoshi noticed that it was in fairly bad shape - broken windows, graffitti and missing doors. The place had long been abandoned, whatever the reason was was unknown. Coming up to the back of the school, he slowly peered around the corner. Nobody in sight. Perfect. He slung the backpack over his shoulder and made a quick run for the trees, a few feet away, only stopping once he reached the middle of the small forest. Slowing his pace once he felt he was shielded well enough, Hiyoshi took in his surroundings. The area between the trees wasn't open, but it wasn't exactly condensed, either. Sunlight crept in from above, but the canopy of leaves and branches managed to block most of it out. Though slightly windy out, the breeze couldn't make its way inside. Easily spotted if he stood out in the open, Hiyoshi decided to head over to a group of three trees bunched together. Sitting down, he leaned back on one and shrugged off the backpack.

Hiyoshi sat there thinking, terrified. Maybe if he could find a good spot the rest of them would just take each other out, and he wouldn't have to do anything. As much as Hiyoshi was all for surpassing those above him, the idea of killing someone didn't fit that ideal. Even if it had, Hiyoshi was sure his weapon - a pocket knife - wasn't going to do him any good unless his opponent had something even worse. Sure, it was a knife, but that required him to be at arm's length from someone. Not something he wanted in his current situation, not when he was unsure of what else had been given out.

With a sigh, Hiyoshi unzipped the canvas backpack he'd been given and dug around for a minute before pulling out the map. It was sectioned off into a 5x7grid, everything in the area marked off and neatly labelled, although the actual sectioning of the areas looked like it had been a little hastily done. Hiyoshi figured he was somewhere in the area of A2, near the top of the map. The forest looked like it was just at the edge of the allowed zone, and Hiyoshi made a mental note not to leave out the other side. On either side of the trees there was open field, and just below was the school. He didn't bother to look much beyond that, not thinking he'd be moving too far from his current position. Not wanting to leave the allocated area, Hiyoshi folded up the map and placed it back in the backpack, pulling out the water bottle and taking a small sip before zipping it back up. Grabbing it, he stood up and looked around again, unsure of where to go. Coming to the conclusion that staying in his current spot would do him no good, he headed off to find a more secure area within the trees.

He had just managed to turn around when he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his side.

"What the-"

Hiyoshi looked down to see a bolt sticking from his side. Fear quickly spread over his face as he realized what was happening.

He hadn't heard a thing!

Blood slowly started to spread over the side of his jacket, dark red staining blue and white. Hiyoshi looked around, panicked. Where had it come from? How could he have missed someone? All around him, he could only see trees which quickly became nothing but a green blur as he looked from side to side. Grabbing at his side, Hiyoshi was unsure of what to do - all he knew was that he needed to get out of there, and fast. The pain in his side was horrible, but he could live with it if it meant getting away. If he wanted to get out alive, he had to run, and that was what he did. As he took off, another bolt came from - where did it come from? It didn't matter. The bolt had lodged itself into Hiyoshi's leg this time, hitting his thigh and causing him to cry out. Dropping to the ground, Hiyoshi clenched his jaw to stop himself from making any more noise. Pain seared through his body, his hands now clutching at the new pain in his leg. He knew he had to do something, but what?

He needed to get out. Get out of this little forest altogether and find better shelter, a better place to hide. Blood was running down the back of his leg. He knew he couldn't leave like this, not with a bolt in his leg. Without a second thought, Hiyoshi grabbed the end and pulled. The pain was worse then when the bolt had first hit, and Hiyoshi collapsed back to the ground, blood pouring freely from the wound.

"No. No, no, no."

Hiyoshi's mind was a blur. He had to move. He had to get up. He had to get out.

There was a soft thud from behind him, and Hiyoshi froze. In the trees. He hadn't even thought - he hadn't even looked. Mentally cursing himself for being so stupid, he pushed himself back on to his feet. Hiyoshi had just enough time to turn around before a final bolt embedded istelf deep in his chest. He fell forward, coughing. The pain in his side and leg forgotten, Hiyoshi grasped at the bolt in his chest with what little strength he had left.

Yukimura took a few steps towards him and leaned down, coming face to face with the other boy.

"Sorry, Hiyoshi-kun," was the quiet apology before he reclaimed the bolts, ripping them from the now unfeeling body.

**~69 remain~**


	3. 03

**Hiyoshi isn't one of my favourite characters... honestly, I don't even like him all that much. But I still felt bad about the last chapter. xD**

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><p>Minami Kentaro had managed to make his way to somewhere near the right side of the zone, which he was surprised to find was full of shops and some small houses. The houses, much like everything else he'd seen so far, looked run down and old. The shops had surely seen better days - broken signs littered the ground, stands that had once sold newspapers or magazines were scattered in random places and doors had been left wide open.<p>

Minami was terrified. The older half of Yamabuki's doubles pair better known as the Jimis had been lost since he set out. Sure, he had the map, but when he'd left the school he set off running, not caring about where he ended up. He'd already seen two of Rokkaku's players, as well as someone from St. Rudolph, but Minami wasn't about to be the one starting anything. His weapon was a pistol - probably one of the better options, considering the St. Rudolph player he'd seen had been wielding a baton. Still, he wanted to have some form of protection, so he kept it out just in case.

Walking carefully down a street lined with shops, Minami held the gun at his side while looking around constantly. Coming to stop in front of an old bookstore, Minami took a quick look around and then peered in the doorway. Dust-covered books were scattered across the floor. Pages had been torn from some and were strewn about as well. Rows of shelves held books that had long ago been forgotten about, magazines that were out of date and garbage left there by whoever had visited last. A shelf near the end had toppled over onto another, the contents dumped onto the ground and the shelves now held up by the wall they had been facing.

Seeing no one else in the building, Minami went in to look around.

**x-x-x-x**

Aoi Kentaro had a problem. Actually, in his current situation he had many, but one stood out.

It was very, very hard for him to be quiet. The normally-loud first year had screamed three times already, leading to very close calls with people that had been nearby. The first time he was lucky - it had only been Davide he'd run into. They had both agreed it was best to part ways, in order to avoid any unwanted situations later on in the game. The next couple shouts he'd let out had gained him the attention of two rival team members, and sent Aoi literally running for his life, ducking behind whatever was near to keep himself hidden.

After those few close calls, Aoi had changed his path from heading to the forest, and instead headed towards the apartment building adjacent to the school. He'd spotted the building before they'd first entered the school, wondering maybe if that was where they'd been staying. He had no idea at the time how wrong that thought was.

Aoi entered the building from what was once the front door, now not much more than a large, crumbling hole in the wall. It looked like it may have been boarded up at one point - there were a few pieces of wood still hanging from around the edges - but anything that had been effective in keeping people out was long gone.

When he entered the building, Aoi came face to face with three elevators, none of which worked at all. Even if they had, Aoi thought he'd have been reluctant to step foot in one. There was a set of stairs off to the right of the elevators, a door hanging on one hinge covering the doorway. Aoi, not wasting any time, swung the door open and hurdled up the stairs- dust-covered like almost everything else, and littered with debris. Only stopping when he got to the top floor, Aoi caught his breath and peered through the window of the door leading to the fourth floor apartments. All clear. He walked through and went straight for the first apartment. The door, slightly ajar, swung open and revealed an empty apartment, save for some old green curtains in the window. Flicking the light switch, it did just as much as he'd expected - nothing.

Aoi didn't bother to check the rest of the rooms. Coming to the end of the hall, he turned around to face the direction he'd just come from. Leaning back against the wall, Aoi slid into a sitting position and pulled his knees up to his chest. Now that he was here, what was he going to do?

Truthfully, he had no idea.

**x-x-x-x**

Ohtori had had a bad feeling about this "camp" from the second he'd stepped off the bus. It didn't seem right. For a trip funded by Hyotei, the camp was certainly... lacking. When he'd seen the school - it's hallways of broken windows and in a state of general disrepair - something inside him said "this is bad". The second he'd heard the words come from Sakaki's mouth, he knew it wasn't a joke.

He had stopped crying, thankfully, by the time he'd gathered his things and left, but at the moment he was currently alone, and the tears were threatening to start again. He had wanted to wait for Shishido, so the two of them could stick together - he didn't want to have to worry too much about his senpai - but Shishido had told him to go on. There were too many names between the two on the list, and Shishido didn't want Ohtori to risk his own safety by staying close and waiting. Reluctantly, Ohtori had listened and set off, heading straight towards the forest.

There was a small dirt path leading from the front of the school, which cut off just before the thick cluster of trees started. Clutching his map in one hand, Ohtori slung the backpack over his shoulder and walked in, carefully surveying his surroundings before continuing on. He didn't want to go too far in yet, he'd rather take some time to figure out what he was going to do. Spotting a small group of bushes off to the side, Ohtori walked over, took the backpack off, and nestled into them.

Unfolding the map, Ohtori tried to pinpoint exactly where he was - he assumed it ws somewhere in C2, but the map was sectioned off poorly at best. At least it had labels. He folded it back up and placed it in the front pocket of the backpack - easy access for when he needed to pull it out later. Digging through the bag, Ohtori went through the items he'd been given. Water bottle, weapon, and the day's supply of food - a sandwich, rice crackers and some fruit. Noting that the only thing that may even hold a day were the crackers, Ohtori suddenly realized he might not live long enough for it to even matter.

**~69 remain~**


	4. 04

**Woo, two chapters in one night! Actually I manage to get the main details planned out while I'm at work, so typing up and adding detail doesn't take too much time. No deaths in the last chapter! I thought I'd give the boys a break. Or make them suffer a bit longer. I'm cruel. This chapter ended up a bit longer than I had expected, but that's more than okay with me!**

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><p>Minami had made his way to the back room of the bookstore slowly, checking behind him every other second or so to make sure nobody had entered while he had his back turned. Inside the room was nothing but a desk, various out of date computer parts, and an overflowing trash can. Rummaging around in the desk drawer, Minami came across a flashlight with no batteries and what looked to be a petrified mouse.<p>

Something in the front room thudded, and Minami jerked his head around. Still holding the pistol tightly to his side, he crammed himself against the wall and cautiously peered out. He couldn't see anything. He had definitely heard something, so maybe the other person was just hiding. Had they realized Minami was in here? Had they seen him go in? Maybe they'd knocked something over and fled, not wanting to give anyone that may be there the chance to attack.

Deciding that going back to the main room would be a better idea - if someone came back here, Minami was cornered - he slowly and carefully moved so as to not make any noise. Sliding against the wall was the best he could do for protection at the moment. Looking through to the main room, Minami thought he saw something move behind a shelf, but left it to his mind playing tricks on him. He hadn't heard anything since the first "thud", but then again, anyone inside could be just as cautious as he was.

_vovovo_

Higashikata was trapped. There was definitely someone in the building with him. He'd seen movement near the back out of the corner of his eye, and since he'd been on the side of the store opposite the doorway, he made up his mind to hide behind one of the many shelves instead of getting out entirely. Trying to be quiet as he walked through the book-covered floor, he had managed to stumble over a stray shelf on the ground, dropping his weapon - a hammer - in the process. The books had somewhat dulled the noise, but it was notcieable none the less. Picking up the hammer, Higashikata panicked and hurried over to take cover near the toppled shelves.

The other half of the Jimis was now huddled underneath the arch made by bookshelf and wall, slightly obscured by the pile of books and newspapers beside him. A noise in the corner closest to him made him jump a bit, but he couldn't see anything there. Silently praying that the other person would just give up and leave, Higashikata sat clutching the hammer.

_vovovo_

Minami had tossed the old flashlight into the far corner, hoping to get a reaction from whoever -if it was anyone - was over there. It had made quite a loud impact, but the other person hadn't budged. Maybe they had left, and Minami was just making useless noise. He decided his best option was to physically check out the back of the room to see if he was indeed alone.

Now coming to the realization that if he was not alone he might die, Minami held the pistol out in front of him as he approached the back of the room. He walked slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible to alert the maybe other person that he was coming any closer.

All of a sudden, Minami saw a pile of books topple over and a person darted out. He only had a chance to see something fly at him before he fired. Once, twice, three times. The second shot had earned him a hit, and the third shot followed suit. The first had put a hole into an already damaged wall. Sure that he had the advantage, Minami walked slowly over to the other person, his arm still outstretched, pistol pointed straight ahead.

_vovovo_

Higashikata had thrown the hammer in a last-ditch effort to defend himself. Having failed, he now lay on the floor, blood from the bullet wounds seeping into the pages of the books around him. His vision was slightly blurred, and it was hard to breathe. The first bullet had hit him in the middle of the back, but the second was aimed higher and had hit just below his shoulder. Gasping for air, Higashikata struggled to catch his breath before coughing. Blood. He was coughing up blood, and knew this was it. From the corner of his eye, he could make out the rough shape of someone walking towards him. This someone dropped his gun and brought his hands to his mouth. Before realization hit, Higashikata closed his eyes, and breathing was no longer an issue.

_vovovo_

Minami walked over to the body , chest down on the floor. Halfway there, he realized just who it was that he'd shot. He dropped the gun.

No.

This. He just.

Hands shot up to his mouth automatically, his eyes widened. The person laying before him was his doubles partner, his best friend since... he couldn't even remember. How could he not notice? How could he have-

He'd shot his doubles partner. He'd _killed_ his best friend.

He fell to his knees, collapsing beside the still body. Minami started to cry. This was what it was like? This is what they had to go through? He didn't think he could continue.

**x-x-x-x**

Shishido had been much closer to the end of the list than he'd hoped. When he was called, he'd grabbed his things from his coach, and on the way out had kindly flipped Sakaki the bird. He supposed it was for their later enjoyment that he headn't been shot right there.

Leaving the school, Shishido looked around and decided that the apartment building was a good place to start. His logic dictated that there were too many places to hide in the forest - trees, bushes, whatever. The layout of the apartment building was fairly simple, and held less chance of a surprise attack. There had been an hour between the time Akazawa left and the time Shishido was called, so he knew there was quite a good chance that there were already a few people in the building. Still, Shishido was sure that his weapon, a shotgun, would be decent enough to defend himself if he needed to.

Giving the building a distasteful look as he approached, he walked through the doorway and gave the main lobby a once-over. Not even bothering with the elevators, Shishido headed right for the staircase. The door that was, unbenknownst to him, closed in the beginning was now left wide open, promising to fall off its remaining hinge at any moment.

Climbing the stairs, Shishido could see footprints left in the thick dust. Many sets going up, a few going down. So there were still people here. Shishido took note of this and gripped the shotgun tightly. When he got to the landing on the first floor, Shishido went to the door leading to the apartments. Locked. Looking through the window, he could see nothing but a tarnished number plate on the door across from him. The second floor door gave him much the same result, so he continued up to the third. The door was wide open, the door to the apartment across from it locked tight. He walked out into the hallway, sunlight streaming in from dirty windows. The front doors on each apartment were open wide, each as empty as the next. Things were turning out much better than expected. Climbing up to the top floor, Shishido found this door to be closed as well, but unlike the others it was left unlocked. Turning the knob and giving a push, he was about to walk in when he head someone shout at him.

"STOP MOVING!"

Shishido, not one to take orders well, ignored the voice and proceeded through the door. A shot was fired from the opposite end of the hall, missing Shishido by centimeters.

"The fuck?" was Shishido's surprised reaction. Still not used to the situation, he hadn't expected to actually be shot at. Looking down the hall, Shishido spotted Aoi, sitting on the floor with his knees against his chest, one hand holding the gun out in front of him, his free arm wrapped around his knees.

"I told you to stop!" Aoi sounded scared, his voice shaking.

"You didn't have to fucking shoot at me!" came the angry reply. Shishido recognized the other boy as Rokkaku's first-year captain, but an actual name and any other details escaped him.

"Go away! I don't want to do this! Just go away!" Aoi sounded like he was pleading.

"Would you shut up? Stop screaming! You're going to attract attention!" Shishido yelled back at the boy, oblivious to the fact that he was being just as loud.

Aoi sat at the end of the hall, barely looking at Shishido while holding his gun out somewhat lopsidedly.

Shishido tried again. "I'm not going to-" but was cut off when another shot was fired, this time grazing the side of his leg. To Shishido, it seemed like Aoi wasn't really trying to hit him, but he wasn't really trying to miss, either. He swore as the bullet nipped his calf, and readied his gun, aiming it at Aoi.

The first year's head shot up. This guy was going to kill him. Aoi didn't realize Shishido was simply acting in self defense. Before Shishido could even try to reason with the other boy, another shot was fired, causing Shishido to jump to the side to avoid being hit. This time, Aoi was aiming to kill. Shishido barely had a second to adjust himself and refocus on Aoi before he saw the first year running at him, arm outstretched and gun pointed straight ahead.

Running would be stupid. Getting out of the way would be stupid. Anything but the obvious choice would be entirely stupid. Realizing now that reasoning with the other was useless, and wishing it hadn't come to this point, Shishido steadied his gun, aimed as best he could, and fired.

It was almost instant. The gun hit the floor first, Aoi's body following in seconds. His arms were out, and one leg was folded beneath his body. The blood from the gaping wound in Aoi's stomach spread quickly, and only when it started running towards Shishido did he realize that the ground may have been a bit uneven.

**~67 remain~**


	5. 05

**Minami and Higashikata... my heart broke a bit. Aoi, too. I am hoping people reading actually know who these characters are. They didn't get much screen/page time. ):**

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><p>Yukimura realized that when forced into it, killing someone wasn't really as hard as he'd originally thought. Yes, he'd felt bad about killing Hiyoshi, but what if he'd hesitated? Their positions could have easily been switched, and it could be him laying dead in a forest, instead of the Hyotei regular.<p>

He'd decided to stay behind the school, but definitely away from where he'd been shortly before. He hadn't seen anyone else enter from his spot up in the trees, but that didn't mean someone couldn't have walked in through the other side. Taking a second to reload his crossbow, Yukimura tried to decide what his next move would be. He'd really wished Yanagi had waited around for him, but the other Rikkai player had probably calculated the outcome of standing outside the doors while others left, and had set off alone.

Alone.

Yukimura figured that this was possibly how he'd spend the rest of his now very short time left, but noted that it wasn't all bad. The alternatives to being alone were either killing or being killed, and neither appealed to Rikkai's captain.

With his crossbow finally reloaded, Yukimura took a quick glance around to make sure there was nobody in sight before continuing on.

**x-x-x-x**

Not only did he have a longer trip than most others here, the weather wasn't even nice. Sure, it was sunny out, but it didn't stop the wind or the cold. He figured it didn't matter, now that he'd been told he was basically here to die, but still. Some warmth would have been nice. He should have just stayed in Okinawa.

Kai was currently sitting in a small alcove in the bottom of a cliff, having made his way over to the right side of the allowed zone, where the beach was. He figured if he was going to die, it may as well be somewhere he could slightly enjoy things beforehand.

Looking over the map for the last half hour, Kai decided staying in his current position was his best option. The forest in the middle was likely occupied with more than enough people, and the apartments and shops had been out right from the start. They were just too obvious. There was a rather large hill about a 20 minute walk from where Kai was currently situated, but he figured climbing it would be a statement equivalent to "Hi, see me here? Come shoot me, I'd love to die."

Looking out over the water, Kai had nothing to do but sit and think about what was going on. Kill someone? Sure, Higa didn't have the best reputation, but it barely amounted to anything that severe. He supposed maybe, if someone came at him first, he could do it. But that would just be self defense, right? The thought that people he'd played against - people he'd played WITH - could go and willingly kill someone else... Kai didn't like it. Didn't believe it.

Sighing, he pulled the rice crackers out of his bag and leaned against the cool rocks. If he was going to die, at least he wouldn't die hungry.

**x-x-x-x**

Momo had thought the entire thing was a joke. Even when Uchimura had been shot, after a second or two, Momo was sure it was all just a big act and that the Fudomine player would get up and they would get to the real point of the camp.

That hadn't happened, and now he was facing a sea of blue, with a map he could care less about and a backpack he would really rather not have. Looking at the map, Momo realized he was quite far from where he'd originally started, and was probably now in the area of C7 Looking down, he could see the beach from the top of the cliff. Slightly windy out, small waves were crashing against the rocks that bordered the cliff and splashing along the sand.

Not seeing anything beyond the vast expanse of water, Momo had to wonder just where exactly they were. They hadn't been told, from what he could remember, though he assumed the information wouldn't help him now anyway.

**x-x-x-x**

Kamio had held some slight hope that maybe his team would join up and make it through this together. This hope had shattered when Uchimura had been shot, every member of Fudomine looking at each other in horror.

Kamio had been third on his team to leave, and while some part of him still hoped that Shinji and Ishida would be waiting for him, when he left the building the area surrounding it was deserted.

Not wanting to wait out front to look at his map, Kamio had taken off running. He supposed speed was a good asset to have in this game, as he would be able to outrun nearly anyone that he came in contact with. His weapon being nothing more than a lighter, running was his best option.

He'd run to the left side of the forest - not through it, though. He'd gone around in order to avoid whoever may be inside, hiding in trees or bushes. While somewhat out in the open, he did have the forest to fall back on as a hiding spot should anyone head towards him. From where he was, Kamio could hear water hitting rocks, and assumed that heading a little more to the right would lead him to the beach. Pulling the backpack a bit higher up, and with his lighter in hand, Kamio set off towards the cliffs that overlooked the water below.

**~67 remain~**


	6. 06

**I hope I'm living up to whatever expectations you all have from this fic, if you have any at all. I'm having a lot of fun writing it so I hope I'm doing a good job! :)**

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><p>Niou, being Niou, had waited for his doubles partner to exit the school before heading anywhere. On leaving the school, he'd went around to the left side of the building and had re-entered through a broken window.<p>

Wandering the old halls, and heading to the stairs, Niou had quickly made his way to the second floor. It was in slightly better condition - most windows, while dirty, were still in one piece. Classroom doors had been left open, rows of abandoned desks visible inside, but the walls were bare and showed no signs of anyone being there. After walking by classroom after classroom, Niou had finally made his way back to the front of the school.

Casually hanging out the window, Niou watched people leave the building one by one. Niou supposed, considering that nobody so far had bothered to take a look back before leaving, that had his weapon been anything but the cleaver he'd been given, that he could have taken out a lot of competition right in the beginning. Of couse, he also supposed that had a few people taken the chance to look back, Niou himself might have been taken out before he'd even got a chance to play.

20 minutes went by before he saw Yagyuu leave the building, one of the first to actually stop stop and take in their surroundings.

"Hey sexy."

The voice from above was unmistakeable to Yagyuu, and he turned around and looked up at the window. "Niou-kun, what are you doing?" Yagyuu was looking up at his doubles partner, who clearly didn't care if he'd put himself on display for 70 other people with weapons.

"Waiting for you," Niou said as if it was quite obvious.

"That is slightly unwise," the blonde tilted his head a bit further.

"Maybe slightly," Niou said, shifting until he was sitting on the window ledge, legs dangling over, "but I'm still alive so it's not so bad." With that, Niou pushed off of the window ledge, landing in a tree that was almost too far away. With agility that would rival most others, Niou slid out of the tree and landed smoothly on the ground, a few feet from where Yagyuu stood.

"Niou-kun-"

"Let's get the fuck out of here before someone else walks out," he said, grabbing Yagyuu's wrist and dragging him off to the right, towards the apartments.

**x-x-x-x**

Coming closer to the cliff, Kamio caught sight of someone standing there, causing him to come to a stop. Not entirely sure of who it was, but knowing that if this person turned around they'd see him, Kamio had to think of a plan.

Fairly out in the open now that he'd moved away from the forest, he didn't want to wait around and think while someone else got their chance and took a shot at him.

What could he do? All he had was a lighter. It wasn't going to be very useful if the need for physical combat came into play. What was he going to do, hold it under someone's arm while they tried to stab him?

Thinking, thinking. This was taking too long.

And just as that thought crossed his mind, so did another. Kamio hoped this idea would work, because he wasn't going to get a second chance. Estimating the distance between him and his target, about 20 metres, Kamio broke out into a run.

15 metres. Closer.

10 metres. Close enough. Kamio threw the lighter, sending it flying past the other's head.

5 metres, and Kamio was finally close enough to his target to make out who it was, even if his best glance of their face was when they were mid-turn to see where the item that had just sailed by them had come from. Reaching his target, Kamio's hands met the lettering on the back of the other's jacket. A stumble, a trip. A fall. Kamio could see the other's hand as he failed to grasp the side of the cliff, failed to keep himself from falling to the rocks below.

Kamio had fallen to his hands and knees. Even from so many feet up, he could hear the sickening thud of the one he'd just pushed landing on the rocks below.

**x-x-x-x**

Like Niou, Jiroh had waited near the school so as to not have to set out on his own. Unlike Niou, though, Jiroh didn't have a long wait.

Hiding quietly behind the tree Niou would later jump down from, Jiroh waited patiently for the four people between them to leave before going any closer to the school. Once Aragaki had gone on his way, Jiroh moved up to the school so he was right by the doorway. When Atobe walked out, Jiroh grabbed his arm, latching on.

"Atobe!"

Atobe had been positive that this was someone out to kill him, positive that he was going to die not even a minute after setting out. About to dislodge the person from his arm, Atobe looked down.

"...Jiroh?"

"A-I don'twanttodieandIcan'tdothisonmyownbecausewhatif-"

"Jiroh."

"-Ifallasleepandsomeonekillsme, Atobe, pleasedon'tditchme," Jiroh's voice was shaking, his face pressed into Atobe's shoulder.

"Jiroh, let go of my arm, stop shouting, and follow," Atobe looked slightly irritated while trying to calm the blonde.

Not one to disobey his captain, Jiroh reluctantly let go of Atobe's arm and looked up at him.

"Follow," repeated Atobe, walking past the blonde and heading to the side of the school. Surely they'd spent enough time there that someone else would be out any second. Shortly after they were out of view Chinen walked out the front door of the school, carrying something that was obviously too big for the bag it was meant to go in.

**x-x-x-x**

Momo figured there were some people who were probably more... open... to this idea than others. He wasn't going to name names, but there were players he was sure 90% of the people here did not want to encounter.

Looking down at his map again, Momo tried to figure out where it would be best for him to head next. He'd first thought of going ahead towards the beach, but once he'd looked down and seen the side of the cliff covered in jagged rocks that idea didn't seem as good. One wrong move climbing down was sure to lead to something rather unpleasant, which Momo wanted to avoid at all costs. Looking up again at the water, something small whipped past his head. A bird? Too small and too low.

Footsteps. Running.

With no time to think, Momo's reaction was to turn around and see where the item had come from, to see who this other person was. All he saw was a small sliver of black sleeve before he felt hands make contact with his back, pushing him forward.

Stumbling a bit, he tried everything he could to keep his balance, but it was too close. He was too close to the edge and before he knew it he was falling. He tried to reach up, tried to grasp the side of the cliff, but it was useless. Fingers grazed the grass lining the top, and then let go, sending Momo sailing downwards towards the rocks.

** ~66 remain~**


	7. 07

**So! We have characters starting to pair up. I think it'll make it more interesting this way. My sister keeps yelling at me re: "You threw Momo off a cliff?". Ah, well. It had to be someone. xD I have been sick lately, which is the reason for a lack of updates. I do have chapter 8 mostly written, it pretty much just needs to be typed. Hopefully I'll have it up pretty quickly. :D**

* * *

><p>Kai leaned back against the cool rocks, and was just in the middle of bringing another rice crakcer to his mouth when he heard a sickening crash just outside of his current hiding spot.<p>

Closing his eyes and dropping the cracker, Kai threw his hands against his ears in case there was going to be another, but after five minutes had still heard nothing else. Taking his backpack off his lap and dropping it at his side, Kai got to his hands and knees and slowly crawled over to the opening in the rocks. He knew he didn't want to see what had made the noise - there had been cracks, snaps and a rather large thud that had accompanied all of it - but something inside him told him he had to, even if it was just out of morbid curiosity.

Peering out and looking over to the right, Kai had to do everything not to be sick. Sprawled out over the rocks was a heap of what used to be, judging by the jersey, a Seigaku regular. Bones jutted out from odd angles, limbs twisted in directions that definitely weren't normal and... blood. There was blood everywhere. Kai could see it even feet away from the body, dotting the ground in some places and soaking it in others. Judging by what he'd heard, Kai had known that the impact was hard, but he hadn't pictured something like this.

Pushing himself back onto his knees and throwing one hand over his mouth in the process, Kai moved back into the cave until he was back near his things. Propped up on his elbows, he just stared out to the beach, eyes wide.

Who was that? Not that he'd been overly familiar with any of the Seigaku members to make a guess, Kai had a feeling that even if he had, it would be rather difficult to tell now. Had they fallen? Maybe someone pushed them. Or... did they jump? Maybe the thought of killing their friends was enough to make this person just give up.

Whatever the reason was, there was now someone dead on the beach, and Kai realized that unless he wanted to stay in the vicinity of smashed-up Seigaku players, he was going to have to find a new spot to camp out.

**x-x-x-x**

Once he'd looked the map over thoroughly, Inui had decided that heading to the shops would be the best decision. Upon hearing what they were being thrown into, he'd calculated his chances at winning... and strongly preferred not to think of the number he'd come up with. The game being as unpredictable as it was, Inui made his calculations as best as he could and, reluctantly, left the rest up to luck and chance.

Wandering into the main row of shops, Inui walked through carefully until he found what he was looking for - the pharmacy. However old and abandoned it may have been, it could never hurt to look. The windows had been boarded up, the door at one point had probably been as well but was now left wide open for anyone to enter. Upon entering, Inui saw that the place had obviously not been touched by anyone in a while - and this included the others he'd arrived here with.

Excellent.

Steping in further, Inui wandered through the rows of shelves, finding most either empty or littered with garbage. The first aisle he walked down was mostly for pain relief - pills that were long expired, creams that had dried up and pads and packs of which none were useful. Coming to the end of the aisle, he managed to pick up a tensor wrap and some safety pins. The next aisle covered coughs and colds, with a small section of cotton swabs and cotton balls at the end.

Every so often Inui would stop and listen, to make sure no one else had come in while he was picking through items. He'd been lucky so far, although he couldn't figure out why no one else had thought of this as a first step. It just seemed logical to him. In any case, he went to continue on, but stopped when he saw someone walk by the front door. Quickly recognizing the other as Yamabuki's captain, Minami, Inui waited until he was sure Minami was a few stores away before he went down the next aisle.

Vitamins. Inui was hoping the two aisles after this would prove to be slightly more useful.

**x-x-x-x**

Ohtori had pulled himself away from the safety of the bushes he'd been hiding in for what seemed like the last eternity. After a couple hours, he'd convinced himself he could only hide in one place for so long before someone caught on or came looking. Reluctantly leaving the small hideaway, he ventured out carefully looking for somewhere else to hide, likely for the night.

Unfortunately, Ohtori noted, this new spot was rather hard to find. He found it hard to deem any space as safe when he knew there were so many others with him doing the same. Any noise he heard while walking through the forest sent him running behind trees or, in the case of gunfire, froze him completely.

It was beginning to get dark, and Ohtori didn't really want to be stuck in the middle of a forest at midnight, even on a good day. This forest, it just so happened, was filled with potential killers, and made Ohtori like the idea a great deal less. Thinking of where to go, Ohtori decided finally to just leave the forest entirely. He was sure that once he was out of the mess of trees and had a clear view of things, that something else would come to him.

**x-x-x-x**

What the fuck was this? Staring down at his weapon, Gakuto was, to put it simply, fucked.

After setting off from the school, he'd gone around behind the building and made his way into a small forest. Thanking God for his althletic ability, Gakuto quickly made his way into one of the trees, climbing as high up as the branches would allow him to, and hiding himself as well as possible.

Opening the backpack again, he reached in and pulled out his "weapon", which was realing nothing more than a small sewing kit. What the fuck was he supposed to do with this? He'd seen other people leaving - some you couldn't quite tell what they had, but others had weapons that didn't quite fit in the bags, so he had some idea of what he was up against. That one guy from Higa had what looked like a metal pole, and one of the Kisarazu twins had a sniper rifle... but here he was, in a tree, with a fucking sewing kit.

Looking down, Gakuto could somewhat make out the ground below him - there was certainly enough of a view that had someone walked by he'd get a good shot at them... but of course, that was only an option if he'd been given something decent.

This, he was sure, was planned by Kantoku. It was probably payback for telling him music wasn't a real class.

Fuck.

**~66 remain~**


	8. 08

**This chapter just took on a life of its own. 8| I hope the way it's written doesn't make it too confusing!**

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><p>On the first floor of the apartment, Niou and Yagyuu had sucessfully barricaded themselves in. Reaching the first floor and finding the door locked, Yagyuu wanted to continue on up, but Niou had stopped him.<p>

"Yagyuu, wait," Niou had stopped at the door and was crouching down.

"Wait for what, Niou-kun? If we stay here too long, someone else is going to come in," Yagyuu tried to reason with the other. He didn't want to run into someone else in the hallway while they were distracted with something like this. They'd already had a run in with someone else outside, and Yagyuu didn't care to repeat the experience already.

A small click. "Got it!" Niou looked up at Yagyuu, smiling. "First floor is all ours, Yagyuu."

"Did you just-"

"I always come prepared," Niou interjected before Yagyuu could finish. Pushing the door open, Niou stepped to the side and waved Yagyuu in with his arms, "after you, darling."

The two walked into the hallway of the first floor and shut the door behind them. Taking the broom handle they'd grabbed off of one of Shitenhouji's players (Koishikawa, Yagyuu had informed Niou after the latter had taken him out on their way into the building) Niou jammed it through the handle and crossed it over the door. Giving it a test push and finding it to be secure enough, the two continued on into the hall of the first floor, now entirely theirs for the time being.

Surveying the hall around them, they found most doors to be closed. The air was dusty, stale. There was a thick layer of dust on the ground, like this area hadn't been touched even before the whole building had been abandoned. Walking down the hall, Niou tested the doors on the apartments, finding that most were left unlocked.

"So, it seems like we're safe for now, huh?" Niou turned to look back at Yagyuu.

"I wouldn't call it safe, Niou-kun," Yagyuu said, glancing at his doubles partner, "just... not in immediate danger."

"Yagyuu, you make everything so dramatic," came the slightly whiny reply from Niou.

"I wasn't going for dramatic, just honest."

"Che, you're no fun."

"I wasn't going for fun, either."

"Well, I know it's not like any of Atobe's parties, but we should at least try to make the best of it, right?"

"And what would you consider 'making the best' of this situation?" Yagyuu was used to Niou's rather odd way of thinking, but the idea of having fun while their teammates were out killing each other was entirely new to him.

"Well, Yagyuu, we _do_ have the whole first floor to ourselves, yeah?" the reply came with a smirk.

"...what are you suggesting?"

"I'll let you take a guess."

Before Yagyuu had time to make said guess, Niou had already grabbed his wrist and had him half way to one of the empty rooms. They'd just made it in before Niou discarded their backpacks on the ground and pushed Yagyuu up against a wall of what would have been the living room. Nudging Yagyuu's head to the side with his, Niou traced kisses down the other's neck and shoulder, biting lightly every so often.

"You are so inappropriate."

"You're not really protesting, now, are you?"

Kissing Yagyuu while pushing him down to the floor, Niou followed until he was seated comfortably in the other's lap, his hands against the wall.

A loud crack in the distance sent both heads turning in the direction of the hall. Niou barely had time to remove himself from Yagyuu's lap before someone burst into the room wielding a baseball bat.

Looking around them, Niou quickly grabbed the bags and tossed one to Yagyuu before running to the other side of the room. The other person was in the doorway to the main room, breathing heavily and looking back and forth between the two of them. Yagyuu recognized from the size of the other that it was Tanishi, one of Higa's singles players.

_vovovovo_

Looking between the two Rikkai players, Tanishi wasn't sure if he'd be able to take them both out at once, but he knew if he didn't try _something_ that the consequences wouldn't be in his favour. A quick glance at Yagyuu showed that he was holding a chain, while Niou was holding... nothing?

Weighing the options in his head, Tanishi figured it was best to get Yagyuu out of the way first since he posed more of a threat. Gripping the baseball bat tightly with both hands, Tanishi braced himself and quickly lunged forward, pushing back on one foot with all his strength. When he was finally few inches away from his target, he swung.

He waited for the impact, but it never came. Tanishi opened his eyes, unaware that he had even closed them in the first place. Fuck. Yagyuu had managed to dodge the first attack, but was now much closer to the back wall. Less of an escape path. Tanishi moved closer, ready to swing again, but for the few seconds he'd had his eyes closed he had missed something vital.

_vovovovo_

Yagyuu had seen Tanishi get ready to attack, he'd noticed the other stiffen up right before he'd come running. Hoping he'd timed it right, Yagyuu had ducked when Tanishi swung and had missed being hit entirely. Looking at Niou from across the room was all the signal he needed to give to the other.

When Tanishi had opened his eyes and gone in for the next hit, Yagyuu had been prepared and moved to the side, chain in hand. Before Tanishi could get another swing in, Yagyuu gripped the chain with both hands and lashed out, hitting Tanishi directly in the shin.

_vovovovo_

While Tanishi focused on his first swing, Niou had removed the cleaver from his bag. When he'd gotten the signal from Yagyuu seconds later, it was enough. Moving quickly and quietly, Niou ran up behind Tanishi, who was now distracted with clutching at his injured leg. As soon as Niou saw Tanishi remove his hands from his now-bruised leg, Niou took his chance. Leaning down as he ran in, arm outstretched, Niou swung the cleaver at Tanishi's ankle.

Hitting harder than he thought, the crack of metal hitting bone was audible throughout the empty apartment. Within seconds Tanishi was on the floor, writhing in pain while grabbing at his ankle, blood pouring from between his fingers.

Yagyuu walked over, one end of the chain in each hand. Avoiding the other's eyes, Yagyuu dropped the middle of the chain to the ground and slid it underneath Tanishi's neck. Looking up at Niou, Yagyuu switched the ends of the chain from hand to hand and pulled as tight as he could, while also lifting the chains from the floor.

Tanishi's fingers flew from his ankle to the chains that were now around his throat, trying desperately to pry them off, They were too tight. He couldn't breathe. Vision going blurry, he tried to look up, but was met with nothing but a dark gray blur.

Niou, taking some form of pity on the other as he watched him struggle on the floor, walked over, his eyes never leaving Yagyuu's. He lifted one leg, and just as quickly as he'd raised it, it came back down. Tanishi had no time to make out what the white object coming towards his face was before there was a crack. The hands that had been trying to pry the chains away fell limp, and Yagyuu let the chain drop to the floor.

Wiping the cleaver off on his pants before dropping it, Niou took a second to look at the lifeless body on the floor before glancing back up at his doubles partner.

"Now, Yagyuu, where were we?"

**~64 remain~**


	9. 09

**I'm getting the feeling that maybe I should upload my drawing of the map, so readers might have a better idea of what the area looks like. I'll see about getting it up in a couple of days! Maybe with the next chapter or something. Also, thank you to the two anonymous reviewers! I have no other way to tell you, so I hope this is okay! :3**

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><p>Somehow he'd wandered to the area farthest from the school. From where he was, he could see the shops that were marked off on the map, but something told him avoiding them was probably in his best interest.<p>

Originally, Saeki had wanted to end up at the beach, but by the time he got close enough he could already see that guy - what's his face - from Higa, and decided to avoid it until later on as well.

So, due to his avoidance of two areas so far, Saeki was currently "relaxing" on the side of a grassy hill, which was in the very bottom corner of the allowed zone. He figured if someone was willing to take him out while he was unprepared it was partially his fault for letting it happen, which he was okay with, and partially because the other person must really want to win if they're willing to kill someone who's defenseless.

Laying back on the grass and stretching out, Saeki closed his eyes. At this point he'd already heard enough gunfire to know this wasn't a joke, but part of him still just wanted to wish he was going to wake up any second from a really bad dream. The fact that this was on TV was probably what bothered him the most. Sure, his family would be worried about him, but would they feel the same if he had to kill someone? If they saw him kill someone? The thought made him rather uneasy. A slight breeze blew over him, and Saeki shivered slightly. Ahh, how he wished he'd brought his jacket.

**x-x-x-x**

This was not his lucky day. Sengoku had actually been looking forward to the camp. He'd been texting both Momoshiro and Kamio consistently for a good part of the week, mostly without response, but he'd been excited to see them again.

The excitement, however, had died, as it now seemed that any hopes of playing a match against either of them - ever again - were gone. Sighing, the redhead looked down at his map. E3, he guessed by comparing the map to his surroundings. If he looked ahead he could see the forest, but the school was now hidden behind hundreds of trees. To his left he could see the shops and houses that were marked off, and just beyond those was a hill. The hill lead into mountains, which would have been the perfect spot to camp out had they not been right outside the boundaries marked off.

So unlucky.

He'd managed to wander over to the opposite side of the area without really paying attention to his surroundings. He hadn't seen anyone in the time it had taken him to get to this side and had figured most of the others were either in the forest or hiding in a building somewhere. It was logical, since they gave the most shelter, but a bad choice if too many people thought the same way.  
>Tugging absent mindedly on the collar around his neck - it was a bit too tight for his liking - Sengoku decided to just stop thinking and let his feet go wherever they decided was best. There was no point in trying to pick where to go, since he knew that at one point or another he'd end up in a less than favourable position. For now, apparently, his feet decided the hill was his best option and so he tucked his map into his pocket and set off to his right, holding on to the small bit of hope that he'd make it out of this alive.<p>

**x-x-x-x**

If he'd known he was going to be taking part in a death match instead of playing tennis, Chitose might not have gotten on that bus. He probably would have just stayed at home, maybe watched some Ghibli movies, and gone on with his day.

But, that was the past and that was not how things had happened. This was now, and now involved being on the roof of the apartment building, laying down on the tiny raised area above the doorway and smoking a bit of the "parting gift" Osamu had been so nice as to toss Chitose before he'd left.

Now was great, because he was actually pretty comfortable - the backpack made an alright pillow, and his jersey was a decent enough blanket, too.

Instead of focusing on what was going on around him - Chitose always did pride himself on thinking outside the box - he preferred to lay back and watch the clouds go by.

He wasn't sure how long had gone by, but he was kicked back to reality when he heard the door below open, creaking slightly.

Oh, this was going to be interesting.

He could hear light footsteps below, cautiously walking out onto the roof. Peering over the side, though, Chitose couldn't actually see anybody. Rolling over on to his stomach, Chitose crawled a bit to peer over the other side of the ledge. Thinking perhaps they'd gone around the other way, Chitose was prepared to sit up until he heard the door shut.

Ah. So they hadn't gone around anywhere. Leaning back over to have another peek down at the door, there was still nobody there.

"Senpai."

A hint of alert crossed Chitose's face, and he turned over to his other side, coming face to face with Shitenhouji's tensai.

"If you're not careful, someone's gonna kill you."

"Zaizen!" blowing a puff of smoke into Zaizen's face, Chitose grinned at him. He looked happy to see his teammate despite their current situation.

"Senpai, are you really smoking-"

"Always, Zaizen. It helps me think," Chitose smiled at him before taking another puff.

"If that's the case you should think of something better than sitting unarmed on a rooftop, senpai," came the monotone reply.

"Ah, but I needed time alone, see," another puff of smoke made it's way to Zaizen's face.

"Stop that," a somewhat irritated look crossed the second year's face.

"You're no fun."

"That's okay."

"Zaizennnn."

"I'm leaving."

"Eh? You're not gonna kill me? But I'm such an easy target!"

"Maybe, but I'm not an asshole," said Zaizen, before climbing back down the small ladder and heading back through the door.

Laying back down, Chitose realized that he'd probably just let his kouhai wander off to his death, but there was nothing he could do about it at this point. All he could do now was resume his cloud watching and hope no one else decided to come up and interrupt it.

**x-x-x-x**

Kite had already been on the beach when he saw Momoshiro hit the rocks, he had seen the other fall from a few feet away. It had definitely not been a pleasant sight, but overall Higa's captain seemed unfazed by it.

In fact, rather than turn around and avoid the mess entirely, it was Kite's idea to instead walk over to the body and check for anything that might be useful. Another weapon would never hurt.

Coming closer to the body, Kite was actually thankful that Momoshiro's face wasn't visible. He was sure that it wouldn't be any better than the back, where fragments of broken skull had burst through skin.

The backpack had flown off to the side during the fall, the contents scattered around due to it being slightly open. Kite had no use for the food or map, but picked up the backpack itself to see how useful whatever Momoshiro had been given was. The bag felt light in his hands, and rummaging down to the bottom of it, Kite came up with a small padded pouch. Pocketing it and dropping the backpack back to the ground, Kite gave Momoshiro one last glance before continuing on along the beach.

**~64 remain~**


	10. 10

**Ahh so, I disappeared for a while. =u= But! I do plan on finishing this sometime uh. Sometime this year. I've honestly had this chapter half-written, sitting on my desktop for months. I meant to originally get around to finishing it but it never really happened, so I'm uploading the half that I have now and will merge the rest of what would have been this chapter with the half of chapter 11 I have written. (Because yes I actually write most of this out in a notebook before I get around to typing.)**

**Hopefully those of you who followed this while I updated regularly are still interested in reading more haha.**

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><p>This was all so unfair, da ne.<p>

Yanagisawa had seen his team members leave one by one, him being one of the very last ones to leave the room entirely. He didn't know what weapons most of his teammates had ended up with, as they were small enough to fit in the bags they'd been given, but he knew for sure Atsushi had a gun, as the end of it stuck out through the top. In any case it was better than... than... the round metal thing he'd been given. He really had no idea what his weapon was at all, da ne.

Clutching his backpack tightly to his chest, Yanagisawa had left the building utterfly terrified. It wasn't a good feeling knowing almost everyone else was already out there - and that some of them were probably already dead. In any case, it had been a few hours since then and Yanagisawa now found himself walking down a small sloped path off to one side of the island. He'd originally wanted to head for the forest, but when he realized the outcome of doing that, he veered off to the right and instead found himself heading to a slope that lead to a lower area, surrounding the bottom half of the zone.

When he hit about halfway down said slope, Yanagisawa walked over to the side and peered over the ledge, coming face to face with a mass of tree trunks and bushes. He couldn't see anything inside - it was just tree after tree. Pulling himself away, he continued on down until he finally found himself on flat ground again.

Gripping the baton in his hands, Yanagisawa took a few steps forward, just enough so that he could see around the corner. Peeking his head out for a second, Yanagisawa took one look and pulled his head back around, sure that the person he'd seen had just seen him, and that he was about to die. He didn't know the other's name, but he knew enough to know that it was the angry player from Yamabuki, and if even Sengoku didn't want to piss him off, he sure as hell didn't want to be seen by this guy during a death match.

Fuck, da ne.

Abandoning his plan of going around to see where his current path led, Yanagisawa turned around and bolted back up the slope, not bothering to look behind him.

**x-x-x-x**

The first thing he'd said about the game wasn't _entirely_ untrue - part of him did think this game could be fun.

If you looked at it in a twisted, fucked up way.

Seigaku's resident tensai was currently sitting on top of an abandoned convenience store, watching various others walk by completely unaware that they were being watched. Sanada, Tooyama... even Inui didn't notice him, which surprised Fuji quite a bit. He had assumed that Inui of all people would be more aware of his surroundings.

Currently Fuji was content to sit and do nothing at all. He had no real plans aside from tracking down Yuuta, but that was about it. He didn't want anyone killing his little brother, after all. He'd thought of waiting for him outside, but Yuuta could be so difficult sometimes and had told his older brother to leave without him.

He hadn't bothered to look at his map yet, being content with where he'd ended up. Getting on to the roof had been a small challenge on it's own - there were no stairs from inside the shop, so it involved a lot of crates being moved very carefully, and much balancing on window ledges that Fuji would prefer to not try again. He preferred to stay on the roof for a while, fairly sure that he didn't have to worry about anyone else coming up there with him.

The next person he saw walk past the stores was Shiraishi, oblivious to Fuji as everyone else had been. Something told Fuji he was going to get bored very easily if he sat up here all day.

**~64 remain~**


	11. AN

Ahh, okay, author's notes chapter time!

First off, I've gone back and fixed a few details that I think needed it... nothing major or story-changing! They just conflicted with things I plotted out recently (aka I actually did work) so I had to go back haha.

Second, I made a map! Unfortunately my mapping skills are not fantastic? They're probably more on par with Kirihara's English skills, but if you'd like a general idea of what the "playing area" looks like, please take a look here (just replace any spaces with periods and it should work! PM me if it doesn't. xD):

i692 photobucket com /albums/vv287/redstars_/PoTBRmap png

1. A1-B3 area is the school and also includes the forest behind it.  
>2. A4-B6 area is the apartment buildings.<br>3. D5 and bits of the surrounding area are all the houses/shops.  
>4. D7 is my artistic rendition of a hill.<br>5. B7-D7 is where the cliffs are, the beach is below and probably runs slightly off the map.  
>6. C2-3 &amp; D2-3 is the forest area.<br>7. D1 is the slope going down one side, it leads to a lower area around the island that will eventually bring you to the beach!

In all honesty, I really wish I'd planned the map at the very beginning! I just kind of pieced it together in my head and went with it. If I ever do something like this again (and I regret not having this genius moment last year), my first step is going to be to pop Animal Crossing into my Wii, and then use the town map I get as a base for the fic. xD

Anyway, I am really sorry about how crappy chapter 10 came out! I kind of just had it on my desktop for months and wanted to get it up, so I went with what I had! Chapter 11 is 3/4 done, and should be up very soon!

Thanks for reading!


	12. 11

**Yaaaay, an actual chapter! This was actually bits and pieces of two chapters that I just crammed into one after uploading the half of the last chapter I had. I'm ****_hoping_**** to update at least every few days to get this going again! I obviously see this fic going on for a while - I'm 11 chapters in and I've still got 64 people to kill off! - but I'm hoping, hoping to actually be done it this year. Will it happen? I'll try.**

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><p>After he was able to calm down, the reality of what he'd done set in.<p>

He'd pushed-

He'd. Fuck.

Momoshiro. They'd never really gotten along, but this.

He'd pushed Momoshiro off the cliff.

Blood rushing to his head, as soon as he'd made contact with Momoshiro's back, Kamio had dropped to the ground. He hadn't moved in what felt like forever. He kept replaying the scene over and over in his head. The initial push, the quick glance into terrified eyes, and the sickening crunching sound that came once it was all over just repeated over and over in his head. Slowly slipping out of his daze, and coming back to the awful reality that was this "game", Kamio quickly realized staying huddled in his current position would make him a rather easy target. Knowing now that this was very, very real, he stood up on shaky legs and headed back the way he'd come.

Walking back towards the forest, Kamio wasn't sure what to do. Did he want to go in and risk running in to someone? Did he want to avoid it and risk running into someone? His choices were fairly limited. Every step felt like it took forever, eyes darting in all directions to make sure nobody was around. Finally deciding to avoid the forest altogether and go around it instead, and also wanting to avoid the school, Kamio changed his direction and headed left instead.

**x-x-x-x-x**

He'd overslept, nearly missing his bus, and had gotten off two stops early. Amazingly enough, he'd made it to the second bus, the one to take him to this place, on time. Unfortunately by this point, the only free spot was next to Sengoku. After protesting that he should be allowed to sit in the aisle, Kirihara reluctantly look the seat beside Yamabuki's redhead and spent the next three hours silently agonizing over the nap he was missing out on.  
>Thus, not in a good mood to begin with, Kirihara's day just went even further downhill upon hearing that "Hyotei asshole" explain the rules. While he was sure he could beat most people in a tennis match, save for Yukimura, Sanada and maybe Yanagi - although he was getting close with the last one - and while he could get carried away in a match, Kirihara was entirely unsure of his ability to actually kill someone. He may be a bit terrifying, but he wasn't a murderer.<p>

That said, there were definitely people he could see as murderers now that the possibility had been brought to light, and Kirihara's plan was to avoid them at all costs.

Kirihara had gone into the first house he'd come across. The door had been slightly ajar, enough for Kirihara to slip in without having to move it at all. The entire house was coated in dust, and every step he took kicked more into the air. Making his way through the kitchen and down the hallway to the back of the house, Kirihara was careful to peer into every room, making sure nobody else had decided on the house as their hiding spot. He wandered up to the second floor, becoming increasingly careful now that every step he took caused the old floorboards to creak.

The second floor was dimly lit, with only a small amount of light streaming in through a window that had been mostly boarded up. The hallway led right, and Kirihara came to a stop at the end of it. Peering in, he saw a dresser and a dressing table on the wall across from him. A bed was against a wall to the left, a small nightstand at the head of it. At the foot of the bed there was a small table draped with a yellowed tablecloth and a small chair by a window. At the right side of the room was a closet, beside the door was an empty coat rack.

A sudden crash from downstairs made Kirihara jump, looking behind him to make sure it was not actually someone barging up the stairs. Escape now not an option, and wanting to make the least noise possible, Kirihara looked around the room frantically. The closet and under the bed were both out - they were far too obvious. Looking around, his only other option was the table.

Shuffling over to it quickly, he shoved the backpack in and then crawled underneath the small table. Backpack now stuffed between wall and feet, Kirihara was in a kneeling position, his arms crossed and resting on the seat of the chair. It was cramped, sure, and he was uncomfortable, but he didn't necessarily deem it a bad thing. Hopefully anyone inside would glance over the table and continue on - after all, half of them were too big to fit under the table without the chair there in the first place. Kirihara, for once, was thankful he was so tiny in comparison.

x-x-x-x-x

Dan Taichi was currently completely and utterly lost. He'd put his map down for all of 2 seconds to tie his shoe, heard a gunshot, and then took off without it. Not bothering to go back and search for it - and not entirely sure which direction he'd even come from to begin with - he'd just kept on wandering, hoping nobody would come across him before he found a safe place to hide. Behind him there was an apartment building, and up ahead he could see water. Not sure what to do with himself, he'd just begun wandering aimlessly without thinking. Walking closer to the cliffs, he could feel the breeze coming in from the water. He hadn't realized before how warm he'd been. Thinking the beach couldn't be too bad of an idea, at least given the circumstances, Dan headed north, a bit past the apartments, to a slope that led down to the beach.

Taking a quick glance down the slope, and looking back behind him, Dan made his way down the slope. It was steeper than it looked originally, and it took some balance to stay upright, but eventually he made his way down to the bottom, stumbling a bit one he hit flat ground again. He could see the waves crashing on to the beach, and at that moment wished desperately that the water wasn't just out of bounds.

Pulling the straps of his backpack tighter, Dan surveyed his surroundings. There wasn't much around save for rocks, water, and the cliff running the whole way down the beach. Not many options down here after all, but it was much cooler and most likely less populated. It was a fairly open area, and the side of the cliff wasn't exactly the prime getaway path if you were in someone's line of vision.

With one last glance around, Dan headed away from the slope and started down the strip of beach. He could only hope things would go well.

**~64 remain~**


	13. 12

**Okay so to anyone who is still actually hoping for updates - I owe you a sincere apology as I've been MIA for an entire year and a half. Oops. Life got in the way and other fandoms ended up taking priority but I have every intention of finishing this thing, even if it takes me forever. Prince of Tennis will always be my favourite fandom, and I still have 60-something tennis boys to kill of so I can't just walk away from this! I've literally had this partially written, sitting on my desktop since July of 2012 and. I finally sat my ass down yesterday and started working on it to get it to completion. And I guess better news is I have bits and pieces of a couple more chapters written out so I am HOPING to have chapter 13 up by the end of the week! I hope this chapter makes up for the ungodly wait time, and as always I am always open to tips on how to make this fic better! **

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><p>Nitobe Inakichi was one half of Yamabuki's lesser known doubles pair, the other half being Kita Ichiuma. The two were mostly unknown outside Yamabuki, but within their clubroom were two of the possibly loudest students their school possessed. Given this, it was odd that they sat in complete silence, content to sit and think about the situation at hand. The pair was currently seated together in a tree behind the apartments, weapons in hand and backpacks hung off the branch above the one they sat on.<p>

Legs dangling off the branch, they were high enough that they were still concealed in the leaves. The sun was halfway down by the time the two had met up and made it into the tree, and the light was just below their eye level, shining through leaves and branches.

Looking down at the pistol in his hands - a glock - and then over at the Walther PPK in his doubles partner's hand, Kita felt absolutely nauseated. The game being as horrible as it could be in the first place, the fact that one person, only one, was going to be left was horrifying. How was anyone supposed to carry on after this? Congrats, your friends are all dead, enjoy your life. He was fairly certain death was the easiest way out of this, that the people that died playing were the true winners. He would rather die than enjoy "victory" over all his teammates and friends. Looking over at the third year, Kita broke the silence.

"Ne, Nitobe." A slight hum was given in reply, and Kita continued.

"I was thinking. Maybe this isn't worth it. Hiding. Hoping we'll make it. They said they'd kill us if nothing happened anyway, right? So people are going to die even if we just sit here all day."

The brunette looked over, still silent but trying to process the exact point his doubles partner was trying to make. Did he want to try and take others out before they got to them?

"I don't think there's a point. This whole thing, it's got to be a joke. I mean, I know it's not a joke, people are dead. But at the end? Who wants to live knowing all their teammates, their friends. All those people died so that one person could make it to the end?"

Nitobe blinked, the words coming from Kita's mouth starting to make sense to him, what Kita was actually saying finally becoming clearer. Looking down to the pistol in his hands, and back over to his doubles partner, Nitobe understood the point his friend was trying to make without being able to actually come out and say it. He had to admit, Kita had a point. Nitobe couldn't think of a single scenario in which, if he was the winner, he would be able to lead a regular life again. Highschool seemed like a distant dream at this point, a dream he knew was entirely unattainable no matter the outcome of this whole game.

"...so, that's your idea then," Nitobe said, a small glance at each pistol before looking back up at Kita.

He didn't want to confirm it, didn't want to say it out loud, because if he did it would feel too real. Looking down once more, maybe for the last time, Kita eyed the pistol in his hands before slowly raising it and aiming to his left. Nitobe had already raised his own pistol, holding it out to his right. Eyes closed, deep sighs from both and a simultaneous count to three, and it was done. Two shots rang out, though most would have recognized it as one. As life left both the Yamabuki regulars, their arms gave out and let go of the branch they'd been sitting on. Both backpacks still hanging in the tree, the bodies of the two regulars dropped to the ground below with enough force that even had the bullet failed to do it's job, neither one would have had much time to think it over anyway.

**x-x-x-x-x**

Eiji had thought that maybe he'd wait outside for Oishi. Even if this was a game of survival, they were still the Golden Pair. Oishi wouldn't kill him, not even if Eiji stood in front of him and asked him to.

Eiji had left the building and quickly gone around the side of the building to look out for Oishi. He knew it was risky to stay so close, but he figured that being one of the earlier ones out meant most people had scattered farther away from the school. Kirihara had come out shortly after him, looking absolutely terrified. Eiji was sure he didn't look much better, because he certainly didn't feel it. The next two that had left were the Kisarazu twins. Eiji had been surprised when the first had left automatically, but when Ryou came out a minute after and hadn't bothered to look for his brother, Eiji assumed they'd already talked about it in some telepathic twin thing he was sure they had.

One of Yamabuki's players had gone out after, he wasn't sure who, but then came another one he recognized. Jumping back quickly to avoid being seen immediately, Eiji held his breath. Higa's captain had come out, weapon already in hand. Apparently Kite hadn't wasted any time in getting prepared and held the machete as if he were ready to strike at any moment. Poking head head back around the corner, Eiji could see the other player heading off to the left towards the apartments. Breathing a sigh of relief, he grabbed one strap of his backpack and headed towards the back of the school, carefully checking around him as he went.

When he reached the back, he came to a small equipment shed. It looked like it hadn't been used in years, and that was probably the case. The door was slightly ajar and a rusty padlock hung from the latch. He was half tempted to open it and go in, but it was so close to the starting point and he was too far down the list to be completely sure it was empty. Knowing he had to think quickly, he decided against going in and instead went around to the back of the school. He saw the forest to his left, but decided against that also since forests gave too many places to hide and walking in unarmed would be a sure death sentence. Not wanting to just stand outside and contemplate his options for half an hour, Eiji took the only other immediate option and went back into the school through one of the many broken windows.

**x-x-x-x-x**

Kurobane Harukaze had been entirely sure that this whole thing was an elaborate joke. 100% sure. So when the first shot rang out and Uchimura had dropped to the ground, he was shocked to say the least.

After gathering the backpack and having the collar strapped to him, Bane had walked out of the school without looking back. Mind focused on getting as far away from the building as possible, he'd started walking before really surveying his surroundings. Somehow in the hour that had passed, Bane had managed to make his way down to the very bottom of the allowed zone. He guessed maybe it was just his natural instincts that he'd ended up headed towards the beach. Many late nights spent with his teammates at the beach by Rokkaku had left him feeling comfortable with the breeze hitting his face and sand sneaking its way into his shoes.

He'd made his way onto the beach from a small slope near the left of the map. He'd walked down it to find himself on mostly rocks and pebbles, and headed towards the other end of the map entirely before finding himself somwhere in E7, finding the somewhat familiar landscape comforting when everything else had been going to shit around him. He looked out across the water, and even though the sky was fairly clear and the weather decent, there was absolutely nothing he could see in the distance. The beach was fairly open, and at any point Bane was sure someone could come up behind him or he could walk into someone and it would all be over for him, but surviving this whole thing was the last thing he really wanted to do anyway. Instead of worrying about finding somewhere to hide, or figuring out what his weapon happened to be, Bane instead chose to lean back against the rocks and try and enjoy his last moments as best he could.

**x-x-x-x-x**

Shiraishi was of the belief that everything happened for a reason, and the way Shitenhouji's tennis team had come together further cemented these beliefs. The situation he was currently in, however, took those beliefs and twisted them until they were unrecognizable.

When he's left the school he'd headed around back. Most people, he assumed, would have taken off without looking back, so stopping for the minute he'd had to think about his plan of action, the back seemed like the best idea. He'd ended up somewhere in the right of A3, eyeing the forest to his left and farther off to his right, the apartments. He couldn't go much farther the way he was heading or he'd end up out of bounds, and turning around had left him facing far too much open space for his liking, with some trees farther off and likely many more people around.

Quickly making up his mind, Shiraishi headed right towards the apartments. Walking quickly, he couldn't see anyone around, although he was sure he wasn't the only one in the area. Shiraishi had been close to the end of the list and had watched most of the other regulars leave. The departures were timed exactly, and it had given Shiraishi enough time to evaluate how long he'd have once he left before someone else was going to come out.

Getting closer to the building, he still couldn't see anyone around, but being so far down the list and the apartments being one of the main marks on the map, he was sure others had to be in and around the building. Instead of going in through the front, Shiraishi veered slightly to the left and went around the back of the building. Broken bottles, old milk crates and pieces of wood littered the ground. It looked like a dumping ground, at one point maybe it had been for garbage pickup, but those services had stopped years ago. The back door was old, rusted and had no handle, but Shiraishi dug through his backpack and produced a butter knife - his weapon, he assumed - and used it to pry the door open enough to grab it. It creaked and groaned like it hadn't been used in years, and Shiraishi was thankful nobody was in direct earshot of the awful noise or he was sure he'd have been dead by now.

Letting the door close behind him, Shiraishi found himself in a narrow hallway. There was a door leading to a staircase to his right and a number of doors on each wall down the hallway, as well as one directly down the hallway, he assumed leading to some part of the apartment's lobby. Ignoring the staircase, Shiraishi instead went to the first door on the left and tried the door. Locked. He was sure, somewhere along the line he'd picked up a tip on opening locks with butter knives - he thought it was probably either Koharu or Yuuji that had told him - but he wasn't in any state of mind to remember how exactly it was done, and he didn't want to stand there fiddling with a lock while he could be hiding. Trying the next couple of doors on that side, Shiraishi found them both locked as well. The first door he tried on the right side was also locked, but the one he tried after was unlocked and so Shiraishi carefully entered the room, leaving the door open to let as much light as he could in to get an idea of his surroundings.

There was an office desk with an old computer, picture frames littered the edge of the desk along with a vase holding flowers that had long ago wilted and died. Children's finger paintings were hung on the walls above a small couch and side table. Thankfully people were not currently a part of the room's decor. Taking one last good look at the layout of the room, Shiraishi closed the door behind him and did his best to navigate the room in the dark. Managing to knock only one picture off the desk, he settled into the cliche "hide under the desk" position and set the backpack down between his legs. He imagined he was in for a long wait, and while normally he hated waiting on anything, Shiraishi was more than content to sit under the desk for the next five days if it meant getting out of this alive.

**x-x-x-x-x**

After running into Chitose, Zaizen had gone back into the apartment building. While his senpai had never really been one to worry about things, Zaizen was still completely bewildered as to how he could care less even in a situation like this. Was he worried about dying at all? Zaizen had been the very last one out, which had made him extremely uncomfortable about leaving the building, if the game hadn't already accomplished that in the first place. Closing the door quietly behind him, Zaizen let out a small sigh and looked to his right.

At the top of the stairs there was a small utility closet. Zaizen had opened it to find mostly old brooms, mops and half-empty bottles of cleaning supplies hanging in a lopsided rack on the wall. Pulling out his phone, knowing hoping for any service was entirely useless, Zaizen held it up to the handle on the inside of the door.

Perfect.

He slid the backpack off his shoulder, and paused for a second to listen and make sure nobody was coming. Hearing nothing, he grabbed the Beretta from his bag and entered the closet. Closing the door behind him, Zaizen pulled out his phone again and turned the lock until it clicked into place. Leaning against the back wall of the closet, Zaizen slid down the into a sitting position. The closet was cramped with not much room to move, but Zaizen sincerely hoped moving was the last thing he needed to do. Hands in his lap, holding the gun, all he could do was sit and hope nothing disturbed his silence.

**~62 remain~**


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